…a boomer muses about life, change, joys, sorrows and freedom from the prison of corporate life.

Lip Surgery – Part 1

Let me start this post by telling you how this came about, because something happened to me that I had never heard of before, nor had any of my friends. So, in a way, this can kind of be like a public service . (That’s me, alright! Dr. Star, educating the public!)

Several years ago, I had to have extensive dental work in order to save my teeth. It needed to be done relatively quickly, so my dentist and I settled on a plan in which I’d have a four-hour appointment every Friday morning for a couple of months. In doing this, we accomplished in almost three months what might have taken a year in regular appointments. But I won’t kid you, four hours of having your mouth stretched, having shots and drilling was grueling, to say the least. But I had my eye on the end result, so I soldiered on. One day, toward the end, I woke up to discover a big bubble or blister in the middle of my bottom lip that hadn’t been there before. I had no idea what it was, but I didn’t like it. I asked my dentist, who told me it was a varicose vein!!! IN MY LIP!!! I was shocked and on the verge of freaking out. I asked him what I could do about it. He answered (and I’ll never forget this,) “Well, you’ll probably just have to live with it. I suppose you could have a surgeon try to fix it, but the scarring could make it worst than when you started.”

So, I had been living with it all this time, but I’ve always been self-conscious about it. I saw people noticing it and feared the worse. “Oh my God – she’s got Herpes on her lip!” My female friends told me they thought it was a blister of some sort. But friends, no blister lives forever, like this baby. But, what could I do? A logical part of me advised that I should just name it something (maybe Maurice?) and go on with my life. So, that’s what I’ve tried to do.

Then, in September, when I had to have some outpatient surgery, I thought to ask my surgeon about it on one of my post-op visits. When I asked him if it could be fixed, I was impressed by how confident he was. He said, “Of course! I just need to make an incision and cauterize the veins. I can do it right in my office.” He then set it up for the day before Thanksgiving. It didn’t hurt a bit and now, instead of Maurice, I have a big scab that is filled with stitches. Here is what it looked like BEFORE the surgery. Maurice is that big bubble in the middle of my bottom lip.

This next shot is the day I had the surgery, AFTER the surgery.

Go ahead! Call me Octo-Mom! You know you’re dying to! Several days after the surgery my lip was still puffy like this. It’s better now. From a purely objective standpoint, I think the scab with the stitches looks exactly like someone smashed an ant on my lip. Doesn’t it? It really does! The stitches are supposed to be self-dissolving, but so far two are left which don’t appear to be going anywhere. That would be okay except for the fact that the ends of the suture thread are sticking up and I can feel them with my top lip, which is very distracting. It feels like I have a bunch of whiskers in the middle of my lip! Yuck! I read on-line that some people remove their own stitches, but, as much as I love impersonating a doctor, I draw the line at that! I go back to the doctor tomorrow and he said he’ll remove any stitches that haven’t dissolved, praise the Lord!

Oh, by the way, the surgeon told me that this can be caused by trauma to the lip (as in having your lip stretched for four hours every Friday for like…forever!) So, whatever you do, don’t let someone grab your lip and pull it halfway across the room. You, too, might pop a varicose vein!

So, that’s where I stand now. I plan to write Part 2 when I have a nice smooth bottom lip. (Said Star, the Eternal Optimist!) If you have a spare prayer handy, I wouldn’t mind you sending one my way that all will go as planned. I thank you in advance.

Okay, I guess that’s the end of this public service announcement. You’ve all been very patient. Class dismissed.

I too have the same thing and have been getting the run around..my dentist to my oral surgeon to a plastic surgeon and now back to another oral surgeon as the first one never got back to me after I paid $100.00 for the appt. and he was probably the one that caused it in the first place when I had repeated gum surgery. Please tell me how this turned out now 5 months later. I would really appreciate it. Thank you, Mickie

I’ve had this dark spot on my top lip for about a year. Over the last 4 months it has been getting larger. My dentist saw it and sent me to my dermatogist. He told me that it was a vericose vein…..I couldn’t believe it, I never heard of such a thing on the lip, only the legs. I now have an appointment with my oral surgeon to have it removed. I am so glad I googled this issue. I kept thinking this guy couldn’t be right. But mine looks a lot like yours did! I hope I have good results also.

Vicki – I’m glad you found this post. Like you, before it happened to me, I had never heard of varicose veins on lips. If you haven’t had the surgery done yet, good luck! Be sure not to mess with the stitches. They drove me crazy, but I managed to leave them alone and my lip is smooth today.

So good to read your post. How did the surgery finally turn out. I too have the same problem, yet lucky (I guess) my “bump” is on the inside of my lip. It does, however, bug me since I can feel it most times. Would you mind telling me who your doctor was.

I had a large one on my bottom lip, and two smaller ones. One clueless Dr. thought it was a mole!

Well, I finally went to a dermatologist and he said it was something like a vein that was bulging in one spot, but didn’t say anything about varicose. By the time I saw him, the two smaller ones resolved themselves (disappeared), and so he cauterized the big one. I will return in two months for an update. He said I might need one or two more treatments, maybe none. The shot to numb my lip was a bear, though!

Can we get a list of doctors who can perform that specific surgery somewhere? I had laser treatment about 10 years ago, with follow up treatments. Never went away. Appreciate the direction! I saw your lip update via the link in this blog. Your lip looks fantastic! Doctor did a great job! By the way…is this covered by insurance? thanks.

Star, I have had very much the same dental experience as you did, and your post made me feel much better, thanks! I’ve just finished the dental work (over 1year) and now have a referral to a different dentist to hopefully get rid of this varicosity (what my dentist wrote on the referral). I’m glad yours turned out well, thanks again for sharing your story.

Twenty five years ago I had a varicose vein on the right side of my lower lip. It appeared to grow big then smaller for some unknown reason. Went to a dermatologist and he numbed my lip, opened and drained vein, then cauterized it. No pain during or after. About two weeks the cauterizing scab grew smaller and disappeared. You wouldn’t even know anything had been there. Now another one in the same area has appeared and I will be having the same procedure again. A very simple procedure in comparison to some procedures I have read above. As I am 73, I doubt I’ll be around to have it done 25 years from now.

i hope yours ends better than mine did ….. i didnt know what it was either but i realized it came from me constantly raking my upper teeth over my lower lip one winter….
i went to a dermatologist they said they could cut it out. i really didnt like that idea not knowing or not being told that the scar would be very minimal so the said we could laser it…. 4 treatments of that at $80 a pop…. this did nothing then they said we could try cauterizing it…. the local injection was painful and somewhat traumatized me ….. then came the smell of burning flesh…. that was 3 or 4 years ago and i still have mine on my lip…. and $400 poorer to boot which was the price it would have cost me to have it cut and stitched in the first place.
thanks Boone Dermatology Clinic ………… for absolutely nothing.

I have same problem and will love to talk to you if you provide phone
Please help as i have purple dark blister after dental surgeries ndi wzs toldyo ignore too
But Now I felt time new blister next to old blood blister yiu van call varicose vein
So I am plan g to see dermalohidt
please send me phone premium directly
Thanks
Godnless